Gully Boys

Underground rappers from Delhi's Jamnapaar tell their stories of the gullies while some break into celebritydom

- MOHD SHEHWAAZ KHAN

In the heart of Delhi's congested Laxmi Nagar, where tangled power lines cut across narrow lanes and the city hums with restless energy, a new rhythm pulses from Safedavan Park. Sixty young rappers form a tight-knit circle around 23-year-old Sameer Khan, who cradles a boombox pumping slow, gritty instrumentals. As the tempo climbs, a rapper strides into the centre, firing sharp disses in rapid bursts. Another steps up, locking eyes and trading bars with precision. The styles switch effortlessly—freestyle, hardcore, old school, melodic—but each verse bleeds the raw, unfiltered spirit of the 'hood': Jamnapaar, the trans-Yamuna area of east and north-east Delhi.

In 2019, Raga (Ravi Mishra) shot to fame with the release of Jamnapaar, a song exploring the lives of young boys in the gullies of east Delhi. Much like underground rappers like Divine from Mumbai, who rose to fame by writing about life in chawls, Raga's lyrics aimed to represent trans-Yamuna localities of eastern Delhi, often excluded from the Capital's glossy narrative in popular culture. Ankit Singh, aka Ikka, learnt his craft in Jamnapaar, continuing the legacy in his songs even today. The fame and love these rappers have received prompted underground rappers here to sing their stories of the gullies.